


Just a Little Longer

by Anonymous



Series: In the Family Way [1]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Childbirth, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mpreg, graphic birth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:55:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26456011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: After nine long months, Leon and Matthew welcome their baby girl and get through one of the most difficult times they've had to face as a couple.
Relationships: Leon Draisaitl/Matthew Tkachuk
Series: In the Family Way [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936597
Comments: 5
Kudos: 128
Collections: Anonymous





	Just a Little Longer

Matthew was pretty miserable at this point. Leon knew that. The first couple of months after the morning sickness had passed had been fine. It had taken a little bit of time for Matthew to come to terms with missing an entire season and probably part of next season as he’d need time to get back into shape, but Matthew was excited for this. Leon was excited for this. They both wanted this baby and to grow their family even if it was a little earlier than expected. 

In the past couple of weeks, something had been weighing on Matthew’s mind. At this point in their relationship, Leon knew it was best to give Matthew some time until he felt ready to share, but Leon was certainly curious and concerned.

Leon was woken up early in the morning in Matthew’s 39th week to Matthew tossing and turning in the bed. His stomach brushed up against Leon not so gently and woke him out of a deep sleep. He knew it wasn’t fair that he was able to sleep with such ease while Matthew struggled to get comfortable. 

“Are you okay?” Leon asked, wondering if this was it, but Matthew just mumbled into the pillow. 

“Is it time?” Leon asked with excitement seeping into his voice. 

“No, I wish,” Matthew said, “She’s just kicking me.”  
Leon rested his hand gently on Matthew’s stomach. Sure enough, he felt their child kick against his palm. The thrill of that feeling never got old to him, even though at this moment, it was causing Matthew to have yet another sleepless night. 

“I cannot wait to have her and then finally have a good night’s sleep,” Matthew bemoaned.

“I’m pretty sure that’s when we’ll have the fewest good night’s sleep,” Leon said and in the dim light of their alarm clock, Leon was pretty sure Matthew flipped him off. 

Two days later, Matthew was wearing the St. Louis Cardinals hoodie that stretched around his belly and sat at the barstools in their kitchen.

“Do you think-” Matthew started.

“Hm,” Leon asked with a bite of toast.

“Do you think you could stay home from practice today?” Matthew asked.

They’d discussed it a few days ago, that Leon was planning on going to the optional skate for a bit so long as Matthew felt okay.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Leon said, “Is today…”  
“I don’t know,” Matthew said, “But she’s dropped a little lower today and I just don’t feel…right.”

“I’ll stay home,” Leon said without hesitation. He knew Matthew was nervous about the birth. _He_ was nervous about the birth although he tried to hide that from Matthew. It wouldn’t do them any good for them both to be nervous. 

“Do you want to just relax for a while?” Leon asked. 

“Yeah,” Matthew shrugged, “Maybe we can just watch some TV for a while.”

He made some simple scrambled eggs that he knew would sit easy on any upset stomach and let Matthew pick at them, hoping to provide an energy boost in case this was it. Matthew would need all the strength he could get. 

They lay on the couch together and Matthew lay flush against Leon’s chest. Occasionally, he rubbed a hand over his belly slowly and Leon wondered if those were early contractions. Neither of them were really watching the Food Network show that they had on. 

“You know, today will probably be the last day it’s just the two of us,” Matthew said, all but confirming that early labor had started. 

“I know, I’m so excited for our little family,” Leon said as he gently kissed Matthew’s shoulder. 

“She’s going to be so worth it,” Matthew said. 

“Are they painful?” Leon asked. 

Matthew shook his head, “No, not yet, just a little uncomfortable.”

Leon gently covered Matthew’s hand with his own, holding it against his tight skin. He felt something change about fifteen minutes later. The skin tightened and the muscles shifted slightly. It didn’t last long, but Matthew’s face scrunched up at the feeling.

“Feels weird,” Matthew said. 

“It’s like the scene from the Alien,” Leon said.

“Fuck you,” Matthew said without any heat.

They lay on the couch for a few hours. The contractions were still spread out and Leon was grateful for Matthew’s high pain tolerance. As the contractions picked up a little, both in pace and in intensity, Matthew didn’t show many signs of discomfort other than seeking out Leon’s touch. He buried his head under Leon’s hand wanting Leon to gently play with his hair and stroke his curls. 

There were a few times where Leon thought that Matthew was going to say something, but stopped, sometimes because of a contraction sometimes because he just thought otherwise. 

After a few hours, the contractions started to come every ten minutes and when they did, Matthew’s hand clenched around Leon’s. 

"Do you think a shower might help?" Leon asked.

At this point, Matthew wasn't sure if anything would _help_ , but he wanted to get up and move a little bit before he no longer would be able to. 

As Matthew got undressed, Leon texted their midwife, Ryan, a quick update. Ryan had put both of them at ease from the first time that they’d met. Ryan understood their need for privacy and their shared dislike for hospitals. In the span of their careers, they’d spent too much time in hospitals for their injuries that they didn’t want to spend a joyous occasion in a hospital as well.

Leon knew, though, that they had a while to go with just the two of them until Matthew’s water broke or contractions sped up to five minutes apart only. 

Matthew had turned the shower on, standing underneath the shower head as the water coursed down his body. Leon joined him, quickly taking off his own clothes and standing under the water. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Leon said as he admired his boyfriend’s body. 

Matthew gave him a wan smile, “I knew you only loved me for my body.”

Leon chuckled and gently kissed Matthew. He wondered how long Matthew would be able to keep his sense of humor as labor progressed.

Matthew wrapped his arms around Leon’s neck, holding him close as another contraction hit. Leon gently swayed them from side to side, hoping that the hot water would relieve some of the pain. Matthew rested his forehead against Leon’s chest and Leon gently held him there. 

“How bad is it?” Leon asked when Matthew straightened up.

Matthew shrugged, “Maybe a three out of ten.” For non-athletes, that was probably a seven. 

“Do you want to stay here or head to the bed?” Leon asked.

“Stay here, at least for a little while,” Matthew said, “The water helps, you help.”

“Okay,” Leon said. He held him up for a few more contractions, until Matthew’s legs started to tremble from the effort of just standing up with the contractions. 

“Bed?” Leon asked.

“Yeah,” Matthew replied. He allowed himself to be toweled off and guided back to their room. Leon pulled on a pair of sweatpants and an old T-shirt while helping Matthew into an old pair of loose sweatpants. 

He headed for the bed pulling the blankets and the sheet over top of himself.

Leon lay there, next to Matthew, quietly studying his face. Matthew was so expressive, one of the many things that Leon loved about him. Matthew lay on their bed, face tilted towards Leon just waiting for another contraction.

Leon felt so helpless, only imagining how much pain Matthew was in and how much more pain Matthew would be in. 

“Do you think that I’ll become like my dad?” Matthew asked quietly. Leon could see tears welling up in Matthew’s eyes. And there it was, the thing that had been weighing on him for the last several weeks.

“No,” Leon said without any hesitation, “You’re never going to be like Keith.”

The faith and certainty that Leon had in him caused the first tears to fall over, “You’re nothing like him, we’ve talked about this. I know you won’t pressure our child into playing hockey. I know you'll accept them for whoever they are and you'll be their biggest fan no matter what they do. You’re a good person, Matthew, and you’re going to be a great dad. You already are.”

“I’m so scared that I’ll fuck up our child,” Matthew said. 

“You won’t,” Leon said as he pressed their foreheads together and wiped away Matthew’s tears, “Not anymore than I will. I love you so much, and I love that we’re having a baby together.”

“Fuck,” Matthew swore when another contraction hit him, his hand trembled from the pain and Leon could only hold his hand and gently stroke down Matthew’s back to provide some reassurance.

“I’m going to call Ryan, okay?” Leon said. For the first time since labor started, Leon left Matthew’s side, if only temporarily to quietly make the phone call outside of their bedroom.

“Hey Ryan, it’s Leon, Matthew’s been in labor since this morning and his contractions are about five minutes apart now,” Leon said.

“I was wondering when I’d get this call,” Ryan said cheerfully from the other end of the call, “Did his water break?” 

“Not yet,” Leon said.

“Okay, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes,” Ryan said.

“Leon,” Matthew called from the other room, a sign that another contraction was about to hit. 

“Ryan’s on his way,” Leon said as he sat down next to Matthew on the bed. Matthew’s eyes were glazed over in pain and his breathing was starting to shallow out. 

“Deep breaths, babe,” Leon said. He knew telling Matthew to relax was useless and patronizing, but he wanted to help Matthew as much as possible. 

“It hurts so much,” Matthew said through gritted teeth.

“I know, I know,” Leon said, “But just think about how amazing it will be to hold our little girl.”

“That’s the one good thing,” Matthew said.

Five more contractions wracked Matthew’s body before Ryan arrived. Ryan texted him when he arrived at their home. 

“Hey, come on in,” Leon greeted him at the door. 

“How’s he doing?” Ryan asked.

“Okay, he’s in a lot of pain, really tired,” Leon said.

“How are you holding up?” Ryan asked.

“It’s hard,” Leon said, “It’s hard to see him like this and not being able to do anything.”

“Yeah, that’s what people don’t tell you. It’s obviously hard for the person having a baby, but nobody says how hard it is for the people supporting them and having to watch them in pain.”

They heard Matthew moan from the bedroom and Leon brought Ryan inside. 

“I’m going to check you, okay?” Ryan said. Ryan checked Matthew as Leon braced his boyfriend in his arms. “You’re about six centimeters dilated already,” Ryan said. 

“And I have to go to ten,” Matthew said.

“Yeah, but the last four centimeters should go faster, especially after your water breaks,” Ryan said, “It might help if you stand up and walk around a little.”

Matthew rolled on his back and covered his face. Leon glanced over at Ryan and non-verbally asked him to give them some privacy.

Leon pressed up against Matthew’s side and gently pried Matthew’s arm from over his face. 

“Oh, Matty,” Leon said, when he saw Matthew crying.

“I can’t do this,” Matthew said, “After all this time, I’m only six centimeters dilated.”

“Matty, look at me,” Leon said, “look at me,” he said as he gently tilted Matthew’s face up to meet his gaze. “You can do this. I know you can, Ryan said that these last few centimeters will go faster, okay, I’m right here. You can yell at me, scream, do whatever you need to do, okay? But you’re not doing this alone, you’re the strongest, bravest person I know, and I know you can do this.”

Matthew nodded.

“Whatever you need,” Leon said, “We’re here for you.”

“Can we just stay here for a little bit?” Matthew asked.

“Of course,” Leon said.

With each additional contraction, Matthew seemed to turn more inwards, wanting to touch Leon but wanting space at the same time. Leon tried to help, but nothing seemed to provide any comfort. 

“Matty, what do you need?” Leon asked between contractions.

“I just can’t get comfortable,” Matthew said as he switched positions again to flip onto his hands and knees.

“Do you want to walk a little bit?” Leon asked. 

“I don’t know if I can,” Matthew said.

“I can hold you up,” Leon offered, “We can just walk around the room.”

“Okay,” Matthew agreed as he remembered Ryan’s advice. He stood shakily on his feet and grasped onto Leon. They made it about three steps before Matthew gasped and looked down at his soaked sweat pants, 

“That’s so gross,” Matthew said as he looked down at the floor. 

“It’s a good sign,” Leon said as he helped Matthew step out of his sweatpants and change into a clean pair. 

  
  


Matthew clung to Leon as if his life depended on it, burying his fingers into Leon’s T-shirt and clenching hard. Leon just held Matthew as he whimpered at the initial pain and then moaned as the contraction peaked. The contractions were so painful that they robbed Matthew of his ability to speak. He was just able to whine and moan and cry in the most animalistic of ways.

“Fuck, my hips,” Matthew said when he was finally able to speak again.

“That’s probably our baby moving down,” Leon said. 

They were only able to take a few more steps around the room before a contraction hit that caused Matthew to fall to his knees. Leon caught him and gently helped him to the ground as the contraction knocked him off of his feet. Matthew screamed in a way that Leon had never heard before and tried to rest his head on the floor, anything to provide a momentary relief. Ryan had come rushing back into the room, hearing the change in Matthew’s reaction to the contractions.

“Let’s take a look at you,” Ryan said as he helped Matthew back onto the bed to check him once again after the contraction that had seized him stopped. 

“Make it stop,” Matthew begged, his voice was wrecked from the pain and from screaming, “Please, I don’t want to do this anymore. I can’t.”

“Babe, you’re doing it,” Leon encouraged. He glanced over to Ryan who just nodded to show that everything was normal. 

“You’re so close,” Ryan said, “Within the next hour I think you’ll be able to meet your little girl.”

“Hear that, babe,” Leon said, “We’re going to meet our little girl soon.”

Matthew just rolled his head over to face Leon, “I’m so scared.”

“I know, but you’re almost over, I promise.”  
  


This time, Ryan didn’t leave. Instead, Matthew was gently stripped of his sweatpants and lay on the bed, riding out the contractions that weren’t giving him much of a break. Leon kept telling him how wonderful and brave and beautiful Matthew was and they were all true. It was all that Leon could do besides hold Matthew’s hand and kiss him in between contractions.

“Oh my god,” Matthew yelled, “I think-”

“Hang on, Matthew,” Ryan said as he checked Matthew one last time, “Okay, whenever you’re ready you can start pushing.”

“I can,” Matthew breathed a sigh of relief. 

Leon scooted behind Matthew, so that Matthew could lay against him while he pushed. The labor and contractions had already taken a toll on Matthew’s body. His legs trembled with effort as he tried to push. 

“Good job,” Leon said as he watched over Matthew’s shoulder. Matthew weaved his fingers in Leon’s own and bore down.

“Just like that,” Ryan encouraged.

Leon felt the exertion of Matthew’s muscles as he continued to push. With each contraction, Matthew got weaker and weaker.  
“I want to go home,” Matthew cried into Leon’s shoulder and that’s when Leon truly understood how much pain Matthew was in. It was causing him to be incoherent, they were home, Matthew just didn’t realize it.

“I’m so proud of you, baby, just a little bit more,” Leon said as his own tears started to fall.

“Matthew, your baby is right there,” Ryan said. 

Matthew screamed as he pushed, the baby inching out just a little more. It seemed like despite all of Matthew’s efforts, the baby wasn’t moving and Leon was growing anxious the more frustrated and hopeless Matthew had become.

“You’re so amazing, Matty,” Leon said. 

“Why isn’t she coming?” Matthew asked.

“She is,” Leon said, “Just a little more.”

Seeing Matthew’s disappointment, Ryan grabbed his hand and pulled it lower. “Feel that, that’s your little girl.” Matthew’s hand fumbled blindly for a moment, but Leon saw the exact moment when he touched their little girl’s head etched on his face.

“Leon,” Matthew breathed. He screamed as he pushed with even more energy than before and to be honest, Leon wasn’t sure where he mustered it from. He buried his head into Leon’s shoulder for comfort, just momentarily as their daughter started to come out of him.

“I feel like I’m going to die,” Matthew sobbed.

“That’s just her head,” Ryan explained, “A few more pushes and she’s out.”

Her head came out on the next push and Leon all but lost it seeing their little girl for the first time, but Matthew still needed him just a little bit longer.

“One more, baby,” Leon said. Matthew’s body shook as he pushed one last time. Ryan put her on top of Matthew’s chest and almost instinctively Matthew’s hands wrapped around her. “Thank you, thank you,” Leon kept saying as he sobbed seeing his little girl. 

Matthew’s eyes had been closed at the relief from the excruciating pain but opened to look at her. For a moment both Matthew and their daughter just blinked at each other as if to say, “oh, you’re the one I’ve been with for the past nine months.” Nothing else mattered in that moment, Ryan, the remaining contractions, even Leon probably.

“She’s perfect,” Matthew said.

“She is, and so are you,” Leon said, “Thank you for giving me this wonderful family.”

Ryan quietly helped Matthew with the placenta and cleaned both him and their daughter up. 

Matthew was tired, sore, and still in pain, but there he was laying in bed with his boyfriend and daughter and everything felt perfect. 

“We should probably call people,” Matthew said and Leon knew there would be phone calls later to their families, agents, and teammates, but for now he just wanted to enjoy the moment.

“Later,” Leon said, “Let’s just let it be us for now.” He gently held his daughter’s head with one hand and peered over Matthew’s shoulder to watch her. She was perfect and she was theirs. But as much as he loved watching her, he glanced up at Matthew and saw his face melt in love with their little girl. He knew this would happen, but seeing it happen just made him fall even more in love with Matthew.

“I love you,” he said. 

“I love you too,” Matthew replied, “Thank you, for everything.”

Leon shrugged, “You were amazing today, so thank you.


End file.
